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Brunch & Shopping

This morning Kim got ready to spend a day with Linda! She was so excited for this weekend to finally be here!

She got up and ready and walked across the city to Linda’s hotel so they could get some brunch. Kim arrived with a few ideas for brunch and they settled on going to De Dutch, which is where Kim and Curtis went many weeks ago! Kim had the Eggs Benny and Linda had the Dutch toast! Both were very delicious. They spent breakfast chatting and catching up, it was very lovely!

They then headed out for a great day of relaxing and shopping. They walked up and down Robson street, then went to sport check and finally Helly Hansen to find Linda a nice coat!

After these they went for a nice walk around the shopping centre just for some air con!

Haircut

Curtis had a haircut booked for 12:30, so he got up shortly after Kim left around 09:45.

Curtis had a shower and then some cereal for breakfast.

The NHL20 beta is out this weekend, so Curtis spent pretty much all day playing that!

Curtis walked down for his haircut which was in Gastown, so he had to walk through some not so nice parts to get to it.

Coffee

We met for coffee after Curtis’ haircut and just chatted.

We went to 49th parallel and it was just as good as before!

Massage

After the coffee with Curtis they then went back to the shopping centre to have another walk around to kill some time fore their spa booking.

They then went to the hotel where the spa was to check in. They completed the paperwork and were given a tour before being shown to the changing room to get ready. They were given robes and told to relax or enjoy the amenities. Kim went and had a nosey at the pool before going to lounge to relax. They were then shortly collected for their massages. After this week Kim was in great need of a massage and it was so lovely!

They came out feeling lovely and refreshed and had a nice glass of water and Kim ate an apple while they relaxed and chatted away in the lounge.

They eventually decided to leave so went and got ready and walked over to dinner.

Dinner

For dinner Kim decided to visit the Italian restaurant she went to on her first day of work and it certainly did not disappoint! The food was amazing!

Kim then walked Linda back to the hotel before heading home herself.

Purchasing A Fan

Kim got home around 21:00 and realised how crazy hot the apartment is at the moment, so went to buy a fan.

After she got back, we setup the fan and then relaxed, watching some TV and catching up with each other about our day.

Fireworks

We went to watch fireworks happening at English Bay, but we couldn’t see them from where we are!

Curtis’ Day

Curtis had another quiet day today, but spent a lot of it being fairly productive, getting the helpdesk system changed so it was more friendly as well as easier to use!

Curtis did a couple of tickets, one of which was right after lunch, which was good. It took about an hour to complete that and then it was super quiet, so Curtis went into the lounge, got a beer and chilled out.

Curtis did a ticket just before he left and then walked home.

Kim’s Day

Today was the final day of first aid training! For the morning everyone spent their time running through scenarios while teams were assessed by the instructors. When Kim did hers she felt she made some stupid mistakes, but as time went on she realised that maybe she was being a little hard on herself.

In order to get out and about during the day Kim popped put and to the shipping centre to pick up some Tim Bits for the class and get a coffee too!

After lunch people continued running a few more scenarios before sitting down to sit the written exam. The exam was in multiple choice format Kim used all of the exam time to ensure that she triple checked the the answer she had circled was actually the answer she wanted to have circled. That way she would make less stupid and easily avoidable mistakes.

After the written Kim assisted with two other peoples practical exams before being the final person to complete theirs. Kim’s went relatively well and then she helped tidy up the classroom while people got feedback on their assessment. Kim was last again but had really good responses and feedback.

While Kim waited to know whether she had passed or not she went upstairs to the reception desk to book a 2 more people in for the course.

Once that had all been done Kim was the final person to hear whether she had passed or not. Prior to this Kim had seen all of her classmates leave with smiles and their certifications so she was feeling hopeful.

Kim went in and found out that she had passed! She had a nice discussion with her instructor before saying goodbye. It was a really. Great week and Kim had such a wonderful time meeting so many amazing people and having the chance to work with them!

Kim went back up to reception, picked up the reading materials and then headed home.

Linda Is Here!

We didn’t eat when we got home as we were going to eat later.

We watched a bit of TV and then walked down to a hotel in the city.

We checked in to the hotel for Linda and they wanted to hold the whole price of it on the card for some reason.

We went down to meet Linda in the dock when she got off her boat and walked her to her hotel.

After we showed her the room, we all went out for a long walk around.

Chinese Feast

We were really wanting Chinese food and so we ordered some at around 22:00, when we got home.

We ordered from the place we got it from here before as it was good then. We got szechuan beef with noodles, curry chicken with rice and half a duck.

The food was just as good as it was last time! We ate whilst watching Suits.

Curtis’ Day

Curtis’ day was fairly dull and slow, which is the first time its been that slow since he started.

He tried keeping himself busy with things here and there, but it became a struggle!

At lunch, he went to Starbucks and got an iced flat white which was tremendous.

After lunch, it was much the same but around 16:00, Curtis got asked to do something urgently, which he then had to get help from a colleague with an was actually unable to do in the end becuase it seems that only one person (who is not working) has permissions for the site!

Curtis spent until he went on home on this, so at least it passed the time.

Kim’s Day

Today Kim got to the course a little early and helped people who were practicing by being a dummy!

The main focuses today were Major Injuries, Medical Emergencies, Multiple Patients, the Head and Nervous System, another quiz and a practice practical exam.

They started the day with medical emergencies and covered things like stroke, diabetes, angina and heart attack. For each emergency they covered what it is, causes, symptoms and possible treatments. Another thing that was covered in this section was Critical Incident Stress and this covered how to handle the repercussions of being involved in a high stress medical emergency. This covered talking points for the injured, helpers and bystanders of the event and discussed any Physical, Cognitive, Emotional and Behavioral experiences that they may go through. Then they discussed what ‘we’ as the first aiders might experience, struggle with and possible coping mechanisms. It was really great to see the mental health side of the repercussions of handling a first aid situation be recognised in the course. After all, first aiders are signing up to be the handler of some potentially pretty gruesome things and it can be hard to detach from that after the fact.

They then went on to cover Multiple Patients. This pretty much covered all the things you would think it would have to. Its not a nice discussion but it has to be mentioned. It is good to have the guidance ahead of time and be provided with universal notices that can be used in that kind of situation.

Then they spent some time on Major Injuries. This covered major ear, eye and nose injuries and major burns, sprains and dislocations. Once again each had a demonstration and then some had a practical that everyone was able to try and gain some experience on.

For the final part of the day everyone had to sit a multiple choice quiz and during this quiz people were individually taken out to be assessed on a few of the things they have already learned. Kim passed this test too which set her up nicely for the final day tomorrow!

At the end of the day, Kim and 2 others ran through a couple of scenarios to check that their timings were on point, before heading home for the day.

Breakfast For Dinner

We had breakfast for dinner, which was great. We ate muffins with sausage, egg and cheese, hashbrowns and baked beans.

Whilst we were making this, our microwave stopped working! Upon further inspection, it seems it is the plug sockets it was plugged into, rather than the microwave, which is good, we guess!

Curtis helped Kim with her first aid training and once she did that, Kim jumped in the shower and Curtis played some games.

Curtis’ Day

Curtis started the day with a meeting about security which lasted around 30 minutes.

Curtis then had a few tickets to do and there were a steady stream of them coming through throughout the day.

Curtis started wiping and setting up a mac, but it was saying it would take 7 hours, so he cancelled it and will start it again in the morning.

Curtis had another 30 minute meeting with his team to discuss everything related to the team and their projects.

Curtis ate his lunch and then kept busy until about 14:30 when the tickets ran out!

Curtis jumped onto some project work, writing some guides as well as making changes to and sortinf out the new wiki page.

Kim’s Day

Today on the course they covered exposure to heat and cold injuries, bleeding and minor injuries.

The the heat and cold they covered things like frostbite, hypothermia, heat stroke and heat exhaustion. It turns out that this sounds exactly like what happens to Curtis when he overheats, so it was great for Kim to get a better understanding of what’s happening and how to help.

In the bleeding section they covered the different kinds of bleeding, how to control bleeding and how to work the apparatus available to better control bleeding.

In the minor wounds they went over sprains, fractures and dislocations. What was funny to Kim was that the 2 examples used she has suffered from herself! The scenarios were rolled and sprained ankle and then a wrist fracture! Kim was a great injured person and had a wonderful fake limp for having a sprained ankle!

Again with each segment there was a demonstration and then a practical for people to try. It was a really good day!

Baked Potatoes

Curtis got home to Kim finishing off our baked potatoes! Curtis had baked beans on it and Kim had tuna, mayo & sweetcorn.

We watched a video or two whilst we ate and then we got ready to go out!

First Whitecaps Game!

Curtis got free tickets to watch a Whitecaps FC game from work!

The game was a cup game against a new team from another league, Cavalry FC (based in Calgary).

We walked down to the arena, entered and went and bought a drink. Kim got a Nude Vodka and Curtis got a beer. we just got the one, especially with the prices they were!

We went to our seats which were in an amazing location and then the crazy stuff started happening. A song was played which is clearly the Whitecaps’ song, but it was awful and steam started shooting out from everywhere, too.

After that fiasco, it was the national anthem followed by the start of the game.

We really enjoyed the game and it certainly got better towards the end ehen the Whitecaps were losing and trying to get back in the game!

Unfortunately, and to the dismay of the fans, the Whitecaps lost, 2-1.

We went home via a bubble waffle place so Kim could try one as we walk past it every day.

We walkes back home over the bridge and were reminded how beautiful the city is at night!

As we were approaching home, there was a man playing the community piano (which is close to our apartment building) with many people standing or sitting around and listening. He was pretty good!

Curtis’ Day

Curtis had some admin to do when he got to the office and then he completed a laptop setup for a laptop he started configuring yesterday.

Once that was done, Curtis had a meeting but it was interupted by needing to help people in the boardroom with the meeting they were having.

Curtis completed his meeting after helping people and then did a bit of project work.

Curtis got another laptop setup and then it was the end of the day!

Curtis received his hockey equipment at work so had to walk that home.

Kim’s Day

Today in the course they focused on Airway Management. At the beginning they went through patient positioning, this covered how you would manoeuvre a person from standing to lying on their back. From lying on their stomach to their back and finally from lying on their back to lying in the recovery position. Then there was a quiz to go over everything that had been taught so far.

The rest of the morning covered airway and breathing on a conscious person. In this they covered both partial and complete airway blockages and how to dislodge a complete blockage through hitting the patients back, using the abdomonal thrusts and chest thrusts. In this section they also covered CPR and the use of an AED / defibrillator. With each new skill there was a demonstration and then everyone got to practise.

In the afternoon everyone covered airway and breathing for an unresponsive patient. There were also assessments with scenarios where people would be called upon to preform CPR on a dummy alone while being watched by the instructor. The instructor said Kim did well!

Hockey Kit

Curtis got home and tried on his hockey kit. It all fit perfectly, which was excellent!

He got all of the equipment together and went down to the garage to put it there.

Kim did a bit of homework and studying for her first aid and Curtis made sloppy joe’s for dinner.

Curtis’ Day

Curtis got the pleasure of eating his breakfast with Kim today as she usually eats it at work but as she is on a course this week, she has to eat at home.

Curtis left 15 minutes after Kim and was able to get to work at a good time.

Curtis’ day was fairly productive, mostly in the morning though as the afternoon was a bit quiet. That being said, Curtis was able to use the time to get some project work and laptop setups done.

Curtis left work at 16:45 and walked home.

Kim’s Day

This week Kim is on her first aid training course! The first day went very well.

There are 10 people in the class, 1 instructor and 1 auditor, everyone is really nice and there are varied levels of understanding, which is great!

The day got started with a bit of paperwork, no surprise there. Then there was a quick introduction between the instructor and everyone in the class. Everyone had to list their name and what they are most worried about within the course.

The course today covered the first and second procedures to cover when first aid will be required. They covered;